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Tour notes

Each departure date has it's own dedicated tour note, detailing all you need to know about that tour. Whether you've already booked, or weighing up your options, please choose carefully the relevant itinerary for you.

We have the following different versions of the Blue Cruise tour available at present.

I Spent a week with some good people. I particularly enjoyed the gorge walking, the visit to St Nicholas Island to watch the sunset, and all the swimming opportunities we had. The visits by the pancake and magnum boats was great.

Omer was excellent, very knowledgeable, did everything he could to ensure everyone had a good time which we all did. Omer joined in our games we had in the evening and recommended the pubs to go to in the evenings when we had chance to.

What Tips Would You Give To Someone Else Booking This Tour

Dont sleep inside its far to hot... Sleeping outside under the stars was great.

5Kirsten Hesketh,
21/08/14

What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?

The whole family loved this holiday - the whole experience was so relaxed yet exciting. I had thought it important that we were with children of v similar ages to ours (12 and 14)but in the event they all mucked in together brilliantly. All 15 of us slept on deck each night and that just added to the experience. The sea is warm, clear and buoyant, and the bays - many complete with ruins - are just beautiful. It's not a luxurious holiday but it is FANTASTIC!!

Mehmet was great; very informative, enthusiastic and great with the children - getting stuck in with the fun and games in the sea. He was also flexible and organised an additional excursion for us.

What Tips Would You Give To Someone Else Booking This Tour

If you love luxury cruises, this may not be for you. If you get really easily seasick, be aware that the open sea can be quite rough. But if you are up for a real bonding experience with your family, likeminded company, lots of sun, sea, swimming and beautiful scenery. go for it!

Do You Have Anything Else To Add

Thank you for a lovely time.

4Cindy,
04/08/14

What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?

The great group of people we were with, the hot temps, oodles of relaxation and the warm Mediterranean.

Firat (Fred)was very knowledgeable, had a good sense of humour and had lots of patience as there is a lot of hanging around for the guide in between activities. Having Firat at the guide made the tour.

What Tips Would You Give To Someone Else Booking This Tour

Be prepared for wasps during the evening and possibly morning, there were quite a few in some areas. Take a top sheet as the bed covers can be itchy. There is a lot of time to relax so board games, cards and books a good idea. Food & drinks extortionate at Dalaman airport. Don't rely on the Havas bus to transport you to the boat if arranging your own transport - try & share a taxi.

Do You Have Anything Else To Add

Company was good during our week. 15 guests on board; 3 couples,rest singles; a wide age range. Lots of great swimming. Food good, though I found it a bit repetitive after a couple of days. Most spent some or all nights on deck to sleep due to the heat in the cabins. Our cabin (8)had lots of air flow so stayed there, apparently some nights it was a bit cosy on deck! Don't forget your goggles & snorkel.

5,
15/08/13

Name

Maria Clarke

Tour Code

CE

What Was The Highlight Or Most Memorable Moment Of Your Tour

It was all fantastic! Hard to single out anything. I haven't been on holiday since 1999 so I was really overdue for one and this holiday did not disappoint. Extremely well organised (as you would expect from Explore), lots of fun and very nice travelling companions. I was persuaded to do kayaking for the first time - I'm usually more interested in ancient buildings etc - and was really glad I gave it a try.

Tour Leader Name

Onor

How Was Your Explore Tour Leader

Onor was great, Very knowledgeable, very efficient - totally dedicated to giving us a great holiday. Nothing was too much trouble. I would definitely recommend him as a tour leader.

What Tips Would You Give To Someone Else Booking This Tour

Well, just one little thing. Take some nappy disposal bags with you. You are not allowed to put loo paper down the toilet as it blocks the pipes so some discreet nappy bags would be useful, particularly as you are sharing a cabin with a stranger as it makes things a little more discreet.

Do You Have Anything Else To Add

I've already booked my next Explore trip and have an eye to two others. In fact I am looking for additional work so I can save up to go on more Explore holidays! I would not consider going on holiday with any other company as they are very professional and I feel comfortable and safe which is important if you are travelling alone. Love Explore!

4,
15/08/13

Name

Wendy Pountain

What Was The Highlight Or Most Memorable Moment Of Your Tour

"Climbing through the rapids along Saklikent Gorge was great and the Turkish bath on the last afternoon in Fethiye was fantastic! The visiting pancake-making boat and the daily ice-cream boat made for interesting interludes during most days."

How Was Your Explore Tour Leader

Firat was great, friendly, professional, gave us good advice re places to visit and what to take where - and most importantly listened to his customers - on one day we all just wanted to relax rather than take more trips on land and he found us yet another wonderful quiet cove to swim, snorkel and generally chill-out in.

What Tips Would You Give To Someone Else Booking This Tour

"Don't take too many clothes - but do take lots of swimsuits and lots of sun-cream! Do take a snorkel if you have one - or buy a cheap one as I did just for this trip. Take some water shoes or trainers you don't mind getting wet for the gorge trip."

Do You Have Anything Else To Add

"Lovely group of 9 of us plus the 3 crew was perfect for this size of boat - not sure it would have been so pleasant and spacious on deck with a full complement of 16 guests. We docked in Fethiye harbour the last night which gave us more options - we did the Turkish baths in the late afternoon, return to the boat for dinner then headed out again for evening drinks - better than spending our last night anchored in a nearby bay. If you go - try sleeping out on deck at least one night!"

Explore need to update their trip notes and they need to be more accurate. One example only- the holiday finished effectively 3pm the day before. When we returned to Port having run out of food and drink the boat was washed down leaving nowhere dry to sit that evening. The final meal was canned food.

Our Response

We have also passed your comments onto our Operations Manager regarding the last day on board the gullet, we appreciate you taking the time to provide your thoughts

4Lawrence Miller ,
10/10/12

What was the highlight or most memorable moment of your tour?

Most memorable moment was the gorge where we had to wade a torrent and I'm 86 years old. Margaret McEwan gave us a tough ride to go on the tour in the first place and I just say that I am fit as a 66 Y.O. We had to produce a GP's letter for each of us (my wife is 80) although we were fully insured (at a price!) The only thing was age discrimination as shown and on the Kayaking Trip, where the company was insured up to 75 Y.O. - we particularly wanted to that for we had done it with Explore in Ha Long Bay

Our tour leader, Diren, was superb and made sure everybody was looked after. She was extremely knowledgable about the history of the area and nothing was too much trouble.

What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?

Pack light and, if you travel in July /August ,be prepared for extremely hot conditions. Sleeping in our comfortable but hot cabins was not an option - far more comfortable to sleep on deck in the sea breezes.

Do you have anything else to add?

There was some confusion and difficulties booking flights and transfers. Prices of flights fluctuated wildly and could not be guaranteed for even 24 hours when trying to book this trip by phone. Transfers were not arranged for some of the travellers, and it was generally felt that the booking procedure in the UK was not up to Explore's usual high standard. In contrast, the travel arrangements connections in Turkey were efficient and well organised.

Our Response

We are glad to hear you got on well with your group and we can imagine the view must have been wonderful sleeping under the stars.

We were sorry to learn of the problems you experienced with the administration prior to departing for your tour. Please be assured we appreciate and follow up on all client feedback. Client satisfaction is of paramount importance to us and we wish to assure you that steps will be taken to ensure that such situations do not arise in the future. We have taken note of your comment regarding transfers and it may be helpful if we explain that customers who are not on the group flight do not automatically get transfers included in their package price although we can look to arrange this should the customer wish. We do understand that there was some confusion with this information and we are currently following this up.

Our tour leader was excellent. He was very knowledgable on the area and on Turkish nature and history in general.He listened to the group's wishes and we got together every evening to discuss what we wanted to do the next day and that worked out fine every time. He was also good companyh and joined in our silly games in the evening after a gorgeous dinner and cold wine.

What tips would you give to someone else booking this tour?

Don't take many clothes but do take a pair of stout walking shoes. Shoes are not worn at all on the boat unless the deck is very hot and then a pair of flip flops are fine. Then just enjoy yourselves.

0Isobelle McGuinness,
27/10/11

This was for us a diversion from our normal type of holiday. Usually we go walking but decided to try something a bit different. It was lovely to be able to chill out on the boat and spend lots of time swimming in lovely coves. I am not a strong swimmer and do not usually like swimming but the water was a delight and very buoyant. It was extremely hot which was to be expected at the end of July but very humid which we did not expect. This was ok during the day if the boat was sailing or you were swimming but the trips ashore to ancient sites were sweltering! At night the cabins were unbearably hot and I was surprised this had not been mentioned in the reviews I read. Most people slept on deck although this could be a problem on the couple of occasions the boat sailed at 4am, so you have to like communal sleeping or sweat it out in the cabin.

Snorkelling was disappointing as there were very few fish in the water and very little bird life to watch. Overall it was a relaxing holiday, the food and company were good. The highlights for me were the ancient Roman and Lycian sites. (CE -25th July 2011)

0Mike Johnson,
27/10/11

A brilliant trip led by an excellent tour leader - everyhting was perfect - the weather - the boat and crew - the sea - perfect for swimming and snorkelling - the visits ashore to lycian sites - the nightlife - the group - cannot think of anything that wasn't fantastic!!!!! (CE -8th August 2011)

0.5CPS,
20/10/10

As soon as we met our Tour Leader and he introduced us to both the crew and our beautiful wooden gulet I could tell we were going to have an excellent week travelling along the Lycian Shore of Turkey. On offer to us was a mixture of visits to historical sites, an exciting walk through a gorge, kayaking, as well as plenty of time to relax on the spacious deck or swim and snorkel in beautiful quiet coves. A few nights moored in those quiet coves were balanced with a couple of stopovers in Turkish harbour towns with nightlife on offer if you wanted it. Although 'local speciality' food was expected, we hadn't anticipated the excellent quality and variety, or the big happy family feeling of everyone sitting together for meals around one table talking about each day's experiences and looking forward to those yet to come. This tour will suit anyone who enjoys a mixture of excitement and relaxation - just balance them as you want although my advice would be to try everything offered - and I'd never spent more than a day on a boat before this! (CE - 13th Sep 2010)

0Lisa Skilton,
22/09/10

Highlights: walking through the gorge, birthday cake made for me on the boat, sunsets, seeing dolphins in Fethiye harbour at our last meal at breakfast, snorkeling with loggerhead turtle, crew launching the spinnaker on the gulet boat to actually sail back to the harbour- a very rare thing indeed! (CE- 9th August 2010)

0C.B.W,
22/09/10

An outstanding week. Great food on board, good company, interesting stops along the coast, and wonderful warm waters to swim in. We would recommend it highly. Two tips. Don't buy Turkish Lira in the airport. Use the machines outside, which offer a better exchange rate. You should drink lots of water, so save money by buying big 5L containers, which are sold in all the ports. (CE- 12th July 2010)